Sunday, February 26, 2012

SmackDown 2012 - starring Badstuber & Muller

Jupp Heynckes was hoping for a 'Backlash' from his Bayern Munich players in Basel on Wednesday night following his side's tame 0-0 draw with Freiburg the previous weekend. The veteran coach was unhappy with their 'Attitude' and wanted to see a little more fight from his 'superstars'.
Unfortunately, Holger Badstuber and Thomas Muller took that instruction a little too literally and ended up having to be pulled apart by their boss after clashing over who was to blame for Basel's winner at St. Jakob Park. The hope now is that there will be no 'Bad Blood' between the pair after the WWE-style 'Bust-up in Basel'. 

Friday, February 24, 2012

'Psycho' stands guard at the home of football

Stuart Pearce, the interim England manager, announced his squad for next week's friendly with the Netherlands on Thursday. As well as surprisingly calling up Sunderland forward Fraizer Campbell, Pearce also offered to lead England at Euro 2012, citing his disastrous Under-21 European Championship campaign last summer as 'big-tournament experience'.

Reja's Rome departure plan left in ruins

News broke on Wednesday that Lazio coach Edy Reja had handed in his resignation at the Rome-based outfit, despite his side sitting in fourth spot in Serie A, only for president Claudio Lotito to reject his offer - the second time the club's supremo has done so already this season. Surely the experienced trainer will be asking himself if he will ever be allowed to leave the Italian capital ...

Thursday, February 23, 2012

AVB's facing the chop

Andre Villas-Boas is walking the proverbial tightrope after goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani condemned his error-prone Chelsea side to a damaging defeat at Napoli that leaves their Champions League hopes hanging in the balance. The former Porto coach, whose tactics and team selection in Naples have come under intense criticism, now looks to have exactly 90 minutes of the return leg at Stamford Bridge to salvage his "project" and avoid getting the sack from notoriously impatient owner Roman Abramovich.

Managing to infinity and beyond

Sir Alex Ferguson continues to be unrelenting over his stewardship at Manchester United as he targets another 'two or three more years' at the helm. The fans will be delighted to hear that his legendary stint at Old Trafford, stretching more than 25 years already, is set to continue. To ease himself out of the club, Ferguson targets an ambassadorial role when he eventually steps down. After one false retirement date in 2002, however, one cannot help but wonder, will he ever call it a day ...?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

yearn for a return of Mourinho

Jose Mourinho was the subject of boos from the Santiago Bernabeu faithful earlier this season, but for two of his former clubs, Chelsea and Inter, the Portuguese's reign is remembered fondly. Chants for the 49-year-old rang out at both San Siro and Stamford Bridge at the weekend, and with Real Madrid enjoying a 10-point cushion at the top of La Liga, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez must be anxious that Mourinho doesn't yearn for pastures old ...

Sunday, February 19, 2012

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh

Hiddink has money to burn at Anzhi

Russian financial heavyweights Anzhi Makhachkala have long been in the market for a big-name coach to help them become a European superpower and finally got their man this week as Guus Hiddink agreed to join the Dagestan outfit. The Dutch master may be about to brave the severe cold for his new club, but his considerable pay packet should keep him warm